Redemption
by swiftykenobi
Summary: Oneshot. A kind of dark fic about the redemption of Anakin Skywalker.


Disclaimer: The usual, I don't own Star Wars, it all belongs to Mr. George Lucas.

_-----------------------------------------------------------------_

_Obi-Wan Kenobi looked to his side and he saw the face of young Luke Skywalker. He knew that it was his time. It was time to let go of all of the pain, all of the memories, it was time to let go of the past and become one with the Force. _

_Obi-Wan looked into the mask of the machine that had once been Anakin Skywalker. He dropped his lightsaber and the red blade cut him down. Obi-Wan's spirit was forever imprinted into the Force. He saw his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, he saw Master Yoda, and he saw his young apprentice before he was murdered by Darth Vader. Obi-Wan saw all of this as he flowed into the Force, and he was finally at peace. _

_-----------------------------------------------------------------_

The black mask of the Sith lord Darth Vader stared at the brown robes on the floor. He heard the yell of young Luke Skywalker, who then, urged by his friends, escaped onto their transport; that piece of space-junk that they so reverently call the _Millennium Falcon_.

He looked back down into the pile of robes that was once his Master. _No! Lord Sidious is your Master. Obi-Wan Kenobi is nothing more than a distant memory of the betrayal of the Jedi_.

Darth Vader saw the glimmering lightsaber on the ground. _It is payback. He stole my lightsaber on Mustafar all those years ago. _Vader stared at the lightsaber in his hand. In the bitterest tone that he could muster with his vocabluator, he sneered, "This is my revenge, my _Master_." He practically spat the words.

He tucked the blade away. He did not even know why he was bothering to keep it. This was the blade that had destroyed him. This was the blade that had turned him into a machine.

Later that evening, Vader was trying to focus. He tried to fall into the dark side, to let it fill him with anger and power. But no matter how hard he tried to let the darkness imbue his body and mind, he could not call it forth. All that he could do was sink into memories that he had long ago tried to rid himself of.

"_Master? Please tell me what happened to Qui-Gon. You never tell me anything! I am your apprentice. Please Master, I just want to understand!"_

"_Anakin, I cannot talk to you now. I am sorry. I must go. Maybe another time."_

_It was always "maybe another time," with Obi-Wan, _Vader reflected. After the death of Qui-Gon Jinn, all he had felt was distance from his Master. As much as he tried to get to know Obi-Wan, he just could not break through the shields that Obi-Wan had put up.

Vader flashed on some of their missions. He and Obi-Wan had always made a good pair, but it seemed as though no matter what they did, there was always distance between them. The entire Jedi Order had always acted as though Anakin Skywalker was more powerful than Obi-Wan Kenobi, but before he became Darth Vader, Anakin had known the truth. They were equals. On the battlefield, no others were a match for them, and neither was better than the other.

_Kenobi and Skywalker. It was always Kenobi and Skywalker. _But there was always something more. Though they were equal on missions, in their lives at the Temple, Obi-Wan far surpassed Anakin Skywalker as a Jedi. He was wise, powerful, kind, and he did not have attachments. _He proved that to me when he left me in a flaming heap in Hell._

Vader pulled out Kenobi's blade again. He ignited it, and the blindingly bright blue blade burst forth. This was the blade that had destroyed his future. This was the blade that had put him into this metal prison. This was the blade that had fought for justice and righteousness where Darth Vader's own blade had been used for murder and betrayal.

Inside his prison, Darth Vader closed his eyes. He could not stand to look through the red eyes that he had been living through for all of these years. How did it all get so out of hand? _All I wanted to do was save Padme, and now I am living in eternal Hell._

He opened his eyes and stared into the blue plasma for so long he lost track of time. _Why, Master? Why couldn't you have just told me the truth? Why couldn't you have been my friend? I wish that I had been able to trust you. If I had, perhaps you could have saved me. But Master, it is too late...for both of us._

He was lost. As he stumbled through old memories, he tried to figure out what went wrong. His mind flashed on an old memory, one that he had buried away. The Senator was packing in her apartment.

"_Obi-Wan is a great Jedi. As wise as Master Yoda and as powerful as Master Windu."_

Vader wondered to himself, _then why couldn't you save me?_

In such a short time, Anakin Skywalker had lost everything: his wife, the Jedi, and his Master's trust. _Stop it! You are Vader! Obi-Wan is not your Master! Obi-Wan destroyed you! _Vader threw the ignited blade across the room as hard as he possibly could.

"_Don't try it Anakin."_

"_You underestimate my power!"_

"_You were the Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them!"_

"_I HATE YOU!"  
_

"_Anakin, you're breaking my heart!"_

"_There is no passion; there is serenity."_

"_You are asking me to be rational. That is something I know I cannot do."_

"_I truly, deeply, love you."_

"_If you are not with me, than you are my enemy."_

"_It was said that you were to bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!"_

"_I will do what I must."_

"_Obi-Wan said terrible things. He said that you- turned to the dark side. That you killed younglings."_

"_Only a Sith deals in absolutes."_

"_This is the end for you, my Master."_

"_All I want is your love."_

"_I have brought peace, justice, freedom, and security to my new Empire."_

"_I see you becoming more powerful than all of the Jedi."_

"_I thought that we agreed not to fall in love."_

"_I have failed you."_

"Your_ new Empire?"_

"_You're on this Council, but we do not grant you the rank of Master. _

"_All who gain power are afraid to lose it."_

"_From my point of view, the Jedi are evil."_

"_There is no emotion; there is peace."_

"_Is it possible to learn this power?"_

"_Not from a Jedi."_

"_You were my brother Anakin, I loved you."_

"_Rise, Lord Vader."_

NNNNNNNNOOOOOOO! Vader woke up from the nightmare. The images had flashed by, one by one. Everything that he had tried to forget was resurfacing. All of the memories rushed at him and swept him away. He could not take it anymore.

It was he who had destroyed everything that he had once loved. He destroyed the Jedi and Padme. He could not take anymore of the memories. He could not take the eternal fire. _I'm so sorry Master. I am so, so sorry. Obi-Wan. Forgive me. _

Vader stumbled across the room and picked up Obi-Wan's lightsaber. He slowly removed his mask. The mask that had killed everything inside of him. The mask that had forced him to see forever red. He ignited Obi-Wan's blade, and the blue light shot forth, the exact color that his old lightsaber had been.

Taking a deep breath, he whispered to himself, "I AM Anakin Skywalker." With that, feeling redemption flow through his veins and fill his heart, Anakin pierced himself with the blade. It smoldered through the metal that had encaged him for so many years, and as he took his last breath, Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith was no more.

Anakin Skywalker was redeemed.

_-----------------------------------------------------------------_

A/N Wow. I can't believe howdark this turned out. Anyway, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
